Goddess
by AeonXBorealis
Summary: Rex ends up waking up and finding himself on a deserted tropical island. The only other person that appears to be on the island is Circe, but someone or something seems determined to take Circe down and their motives for why are unknown.
1. Chapter 1

:Part 1:

7:00 in the morning.

My entire body is numb with exhaustion and I can't even get up. Both of my eyelids are drooping and I know I'm going to go back to sleep. Some part of me knows something's wrong, that I need to get up, but I can't resist. I end up falling back asleep...right back into the pitch blackness of sleep...

"Rex...Rex...?"

My eyelids flutter and the first thing I see is her face, smiling, with eyes full of life. She looks so gorgeous like that. As I sit up, I expect to see my bedroom, but instead it's something else entirely...

I'm in paradise: sand, palm trees, lushness and flowers and stuff I don't know the names of everywhere. It seems strange that I'm here when just awhile ago, I could've sworn that I was lying in my bed, sleeping. But I'm not complaining about waking up in a totally awesome tropical paradise with totally hot, totally happy Circe.

She doesn't look like her normal self: her hair's down to her waist and there's no half-red in it. And she's wearing a long, white dress and a cape attached to her shoulders by brass buttons. The outfit isn't the latest fashion trend, but it really suits her.

I look back at her and smile. Oh, man, she smiles back and I swear it makes my whole day.

"You look...hermosa," I tell her. Then she laughs. She actually laughs and it's so...cute. I don't know how else to describe the sound.

"You don't look too hot right now," she says, grabbing my hand.

"You sure?" I ask, letting her pull me up and lead me wherever. "Okay...I'll admit you are cute," she says, squeezing my hand and sending shivers down my spine. "But you're covered in sand..."

"I'm your sand castle masterpiece," I reply and I can just sense that she's rolling her eyes, but she's also wearing a half-smile. She can't fool me: I know she likes my flirting.

The rest of the way she's silent and it's starting to drive me crazy. I like the fact that her hand's in mine, but I'd really like to know where she's dragging me off to. The palm trees and plants start to become thicker and thicker, but Circe seems to know exactly where she's going and what she's doing. After awhile, I just can't hold back my curiosity anymore.

"Where're you taking me, Amazon Princess?" I call out to her.

"You'll see, she replies," all ominous and mysterious. And the wait continues. She keeps dragging me on and I have a feeling if I asked her again, she'd just give me the same answer she just did...again.

Finally, she stops. The plants rustle as we walk through. Stepping out, I can see why she was keeping it such a secret. The place is a clearing with a good deal of pure blue sky showing. Off in the distance is a wood hut next to a graceful waterfall. Picturesque spot and ideal for a honeymoon. Or a teenage couple. I look at Circe out of the corner of my eye and smile. Wonder what she has in mind...?

"That's my home over there," Circe says, pointing at the hut and smiling at me.

"Looks cozy, I reply," wiggling my eyebrows. I hope she got the hint...  
"I get really lonely in there... "she says, putting on a faux pouty face. "I barely get any visitors... Well...you got a visitor now. I take a step towards her."

That's when a huge spout of sand explodes and covers me, head to foot. Just as I'm spitting sand out of my mouth, another spout of sand explodes behind me with a popping sound. Sand keeps shooting up, surrounding me, filling my nose, mouth. It's an endless wall. "CIRCE!" I scream, covering my face with my arms and trying my best to spot her through the wall of sand. "CIRCE!"

Suddenly, a hand grabs my wrist, pulls me out of the sand and starts pulling me. I'm so confused. What the heck's going on? I don't even recognize who's pulling me. The world's a giant blur and all I see are my running feet and the popping sounds are howling in my ears.

Next thing I know, a door slams shut and I'm standing in a cozy little living room. The popping sound is replaced with the crackling of a fireplace. I'm whirled around again and it's just now that I realize that my heart might just bust out of my chest if it beats any faster than it is right now. Alarmed and bewildered, I find myself looking right at Circe...and she looks tired.

"Sorry about that..." she sighed, looking at me. "There's other people besides me living on the island. They hate my guts. They'll do anything to get me. For example, they set up those booby traps you just ran into in the sand outside..."

I soak that information in, and it doesn't make sense. "Who are 'they'?"

"I'll explain later..." she says. "We're safe if we stay in the house."

"But _they_ attacked you! I protested. Shouldn't we-"

Circe walks up to me as I'm talking. My eyes follow her and then she cuts off my words by just grabbing my face and kissing me on the lips. Everything else seems to disappear as I close my eyes and just let her kiss me. I kiss her back and she comes closer, wraps her arms around me.

All I can think about is soft her lips feel pressed against mine, how her body's pressed against me. It's driving me crazy. I can't think of anything else, just how much I'm enjoying this, how much I want it to continue. And just as soon as it started, Circe pulls away and it ends. I'm looking at her, into the depths of those gorgeous brown eyes. I want to say something to her so badly, but this is one of those rare moments in my life that I'm just...speechless.

Circe just smiles, her lips closed and then she shows her teeth. "You're covered in sand!" she exclaims. I'm still shocked and completely numb after something so electric, but her comment makes me think. I can actually feel the sand clinging to me, stuck all over my body.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat," she says nonchalantly, and begins to walk off. "Shower's down the hall to the left."

I'm still mesmerized. I watch her go to the other end of the house and exit through a door at the other side that I didn't realize was there before. I don't stop staring until the door slams and I'm alone. Everything's dark except for the light coming from the fireplace. I can feel the sand again and decide to take Circe's hint.

The bathroom is small and white tiled...and modern looking. It looks like it belongs in a super hi-tech hospital rather than in a hut in the middle of a clearing of an island. Right away, I rush into the shower and the spray of water feels nice, sending all of the sand off and down the drain. The water's a bit too cold, though, but it seems to be clearing my head from whatever shock I fell into after my unexpected first kiss.

I can't help wondering what Circe's doing here all by herself...I thought she'd be hanging around with Van Kleiss and his goons in Van Kleiss' 'Bat Cave'. And why would somebody be attacking her? She works for Van Kleiss, but...I don't know what's up with her. She seemed to be confused and emotional the last few times I saw her, but now she's happy and carefree. Though there's secrets behind that exterior-

The water stops and I just stand there. A huge cloud fills my mind and my thoughts become hazy. Like a robot-no pun intended-I mechanically dried off and got dressed-again no pun intended. All that fills my mind is her face and how great she looks in her new get-up; she's really rocking that look. My cheeks are burning; I know I'm blushing. Somehow I end up laying on the living room couch and she's dancing hypnotically in my mind. She's all I can think about.

My heart's dancing the mambo. I keep re-living my kiss with her over and over again and each time, it makes me tremble and shake. So badly I want to take her and hug her and kiss her. The desire is rolling through me like wildfire. It felt so magical. Every moment with her is magical. Even looking into the flames in the fireplace, I can't deny the truth: I'm falling in love with her.

No, that's not it. I am in love with Circe. And the feeling's eating me alive.

I'm thinking so much, I end up forgetting all about where I am and what's going on. That's when the door opens again and I'm on my feet, rushing over to where she is. Circe's smiling and empty-handed. Out the door, I can smell something delicious.

"Dinner's ready," she says. "You're looking pretty good now, Rex," she adds, winking. "Good enough to eat."

"I'm the main course," I reply, winking back. I'm not sure if I'll be able to return to the playful flirting I had going on with her earlier. For the first time in my life, my knees are shaking and I'm actually nervous around a girl, but I'm not gonna let her know. "I might just eat you if I didn't have any food around," Circe growls. "Grrr!" She mimes shaking her fingers at me like cat claws.

Circe turns and leaves the wooden hut again, me following right at her heels. There's a fire pit set up in the sand: a small fire and several stones to sit on set up around the fire. A wooden spit is turning just above the fire, a golden, roasted turkey turning on it. Hope you like turkey, Circe says, smiling and carefully beginning to extract it from the spit. I watch her, mesmerized again. Being this close to her, I feel like I'm attracted to her like a magnet. Her hair is glowing with tinges of yellow and orange in the firelight, adding to her beauty. I can't help the feelings flooding through me like tidal waves. They're so strong, I'm barely standing on my feet. I could care less about food or the turkey. I don't need any of that, just as long as I can see Circe, be with her...

"Rex!"

It's a very small sound, just barely above a whisper, but it's probably just the wind.

"Rex! Rex!" My concentration on Circe begins to break. The sound becomes barely any more audible, but it becomes a sound that won't leave my ear. Eventually, I just turn around and look. There's nothing there. So much time has passed, it's dark outside now. But even though it's dark, I know nothing's there. Yet the sound continues.

It's unnerving me; maybe I have some kind of paranoia, but I wouldn't know why. Then I see a huge shape form in the darkness, a huge and hulking shape. It's walking right towards the fire pit at a slow and determined gait and I know this is what keeps hissing my name in a whisper-like tone.

Immediately, my reaction is to turn and run towards Circe, clomping into a defensive stance, fists clenched. All I can think about is protecting Circe from whatever surprise attack this thing's planning to spring. I will myself to turn my arms into giant mechanical fists, but...

I don't feel the normal whir and click or tingle of nanites. I feel nothing at all. Helplessly, I look down and even though I try again, all I see are my normal hands. Un-clenching my fists, I look down at the empty palms of my hands, utterly bewildered.

Somehow, I don't have my evo powers anymore...


	2. Chapter 2

:Part 2:

The thing keeps coming towards us and I'm powerless to stop it. I step back, spreading my arms and glaring at whatever it is. It'll have to get through me to get to Circe.

"It's okay, Rex," she whispers in my ear, pushing my arm down. "He's a friend..."

I watch as she steps around me, my stomach tying knots. Then the creature steps out of the darkness into the light of the fire...It's a huge lion with a brownish gold mane of fur around its face. What surprises me is that the lion is...purring and Circe is petting it, crooning to it in a soft voice. Okay... This seems extremely out of place. Did I just hear the lion talking to me not too long ago, too?

"Maybe I was wrong about being..._completely_ alone here," Circe says, looking fondly at the big lion. "I have lots of friends that live all over the island...but they're not...human."

"Not all of your friends are meat eaters, are they?" That lion is unnerving me. She might be it's friend, but it's looking at me like I'm an all-you-can-eat buffet. And since I've lost all of my powers, I'm powerless if Big Kitty is hungry.

"No," Circe says, with a laugh. "They're harmless. They're my pets, Rex. And they don't attack anyone unless I tell them to."

That comment makes me remember the earlier attack, how the sand sprayed at me from all sides. "Are there any booby traps set up around here?"

"No... "Circe says, her hand buried in the lion's mane. "

"Who set up those booby traps around your home?" I ask. Whoever did it is gonna pay dearly, once I figure out what happened to my powers...and figure out who did it...  
"Don't worry about them," Circe replied, standing up and walking over to me. "The sand thing was unexpected, but I've set up a defense system to protect myself. We'll be fine..."

She took my hands in hers and then she looked up at my face. As soon as I was looking at her face, those eyes, those lips, I couldn't bare to look away. "Just you and me, Rex," she whispered. "It was meant to be..."

She's made me speechless again. I'm putty as soon as she reaches up and touches my face with her hand. Now her face is so close, her nose is pressed against mine, her hot breath steaming onto my face. It's driving me wild. Every part of me is giving in to intense feelings.

"You're mine, Rex," she says. "Don't forget that." That's when she pulls away and I can feel my head spinning. "I hope you're hungry," she adds, walking over to the turkey and beginning the process of preparing it again. I watch her, unbelieving of how easily she can make one moment intense and then just go back to routine the next. The entire world is spinning for me. At any moment, I'm gonna topple over because of how strongly I'm feeling. It's taking everything in me to suppress the urge to run over to her and just kiss those ruby red lips-

"Rex?" There's that soft whisper voice again and this time, I feel something furry brush my arm. When I turn around, I'm looking right at the lion and it's looking at me. It's speaking to me and it knows my name. I cast a nervous glance over my shoulder at Circe, it's tamer, and then back at the lion.

"Please, don't be scared," the lion says, yet it's lips aren't moving. "It's me...Noah."

"Noah?" I repeat back, then he glares at me. The voice sounds the same as his if he were whispering, but am I really supposed to trust a talking lion?  
"I'm talking to you telepathically," the lion says, irritated. "So _she_ can't hear me."

"I thought you were her friend..." I think back to it. "You looked so-"

"Oh, you shouldn't believe anything _she_ says," the lion continues. "It may be hard for me to prove, but I am Noah. I can't really explain everything to you now because Circe's around and she'll detect my telepathic connection with you any minute now... "

Am I really supposed to believe I'm talking to a lion? Especially a lion that claims he's actually Noah? I must be going insane or something, but then again, there's a lot that isn't making any sense at all right now.

"I will say this much," the lion continued, looking angry. "Circe was the one that turned me into a lion. Don't. Eat. The. Turkey. She might be planning to turn you into an-"

I tune out the lion when I smell something absolutely delicious. That's when I find a very tasty-looking turkey leg thrust into my face.

"Take a bite," Circe urges. It looks so good and my stomach's rumbling. I'm so hungry, I can feel myself drooling. It's practically irresistible when Circe presses it right against my lips and looks at me.

Don't. Eat. The. Turkey. The lion's words explode in my mind and for some reason, I look away from the food, into the great lion's eyes. That's when I see it: I can see Noah's face in the lion's face. The lion **is** Noah.

"Rex?" Circe asks, making me look back at her. "Is something wrong?"

Something seriously doesn't feel right. My appetite is gone, replaced with confusion and it feels like I'm tying myself into knots on the inside. I can't look at Circe. Something's making me look anywhere but her face.

"I'm...I'm not hungry!" I manage to choke out. "I'm going for a walk..."

Circe touches my shoulder, and I can sense her reaching towards my face. I feel so conflicted inside and I cringe away from her.

"Do you want to talk?" she asks, concerned. I want to look at her so badly, to wrap my arms around her and just sit there holding her, but I can't. Her hand is still on my shoulder and it's taking everything in me to keep from looking at her. "I...I need to think," I tell her, standing up and taking one step, then two.

Then I just break off into a run, right into the dark forest of palm trees and other things without looking back. I feel a huge pang slice through me; I want to turn back around, just go back towards her. But something really doesn't feel right. I don't know why, but it doesn't.

I run so far, and I keep running until I fall to my knees from exhaustion. It's darker than before and the night is filled with the loud chorus of animal sounds. I'm too tired and confused to be scared. All I know is that my mind isn't working right. All I can think about is Circe, but the other part is thinking about other things...

I let myself just fall to the ground, stretch out and look up. I can't see anything. For awhile, I just lay there like that, but eventually, I close my eyes and fall asleep.

*****  
When I wake up, I'm looking up into the face of a lion. For about a minute, I'm confused, ready to bring out my my big fists, but then everything crashes on me like the weight of a freight train and I remember what's going on.

"Noah?" I ask the lion aloud, hoping that the lion is Noah and not a wild animal that would eat me without a second thought.

"Yeah, it's me," he replies through telepathy. "It's a good thing you ran from her. Now we can talk in peace without Circe interrupting..."

My insides twisted and lurched as I sat up. "She really turned you into a lion?" I said it aloud, but it sounded weird. Something in me knew that the lion was Noah, but I couldn't believe that it'd been Circe that had transformed him into one. If she was the one that had done it, why?

"Yeah..." Noah sighed. "I hate being a lion! I can't stand walking on four paws...it's just so weird. And, I might as well warn you right now, Rex. If I get hungry, I'll try to eat you...but it's not my fault, okay? It's the lion's instinct and stuff... Circe was lying when she said that she has control _all the time. _Out here, anything can happen..." Yeah, Noah, that really makes me feel better. If he tries to eat me, I won't be able to outrun the guy! I can't fight him either...No powers...This situation is really sucking so far, the only hi-light being that I got my first kiss with Circe...

"I'm sorry," Noah continued. "I haven't been able to talk to anyone without them either freaking out, running away, or being that witch Circe. So, I had to tell somebody about how terrible it is to be a lion! Seriously..."

"She's not a witch!" Nobody calls mi amor a witch.

"News flash, Cassanova," Noah says rudely. "She turned me into a lion. I have every right to be mad at her right now!"

"Why did she turn you into a lion, Noah?" I shouted at him, becoming irritable. Noah roared and I could see his eyes narrow as he angrily pawed the ground.

"I don't know!" he cried. "All I know is that after I got shipwrecked on this island I couldn't find you, Six, or Dr. Holiday. Circe was the first person I found and I was so hungry and thirsty. She gave me food and water, but right after I finished both, I became a lion! A _lion_. Circe's been keeping me in her personal zoo, Rex. As if I'm an animal and not a human! _She_ did this to me!"

I watched as Noah pawed the ground and then fell back on his haunches and opened his jaws. Wide. Revealing every last sharp tooth in his mouth and roared, long and loud at the sky.

"Rex!" Noah screamed telepathically. "RUN! I can't control myself!"

I didn't need to be told twice. I turned and started running. As the roar ended, I began to run faster. That was when I heard another loud roar behind me and Noah's paws crashing through the plants and trees around him. My adrenaline was pumping and I was running at my top speed now, desperately trying to get away from him. It was my only chance of surviving.

I could feel Noah getting closer. But I couldn't run any faster. I could barely keep running as it was; I kept going, getting myself to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. My heart kept sling-shotting between my stomach and my throat, filling my ears with it's sound. Every part of me was terrified beyond any kind of fear I'd ever felt before in my life.

I couldn't run forever.

Somehow, I fell to the ground and then Noah planted a huge paw in the middle of my back. He pressed down, crushing me, making the air squeeze out of my lungs. I could feel his hot breath on the back of my neck. All of my senses were in full alert. I could feel the drool spilling out of the lion's maw down onto my face; it was thick and gloppy.

Desperately, I began to squirm and kick under Noah's paw, but that just made the air escape from my lungs that much faster. I could feel my brain beginning to shut down. "NOAH!" I screamed. "NOAAAHHHH!"

Suddenly, the paw was off and I let my face fall into the dirt. I couldn't breathe and my heart was skipping beats now. Just barely, I could hear another voice, somebody new had arrived and was talking to Noah:

"I'm not afraid to fight you," the person said. "I can kill you in a matter of seconds..."

I felt somebody picking me up and I coughed, pain creeping through my chest where Noah had stomped on me with his paw. Next thing I knew, somebody was pressing their lips to mine, breathing into me. My eyes widened as I began to come back completely. I was getting a bit dizzy now, but the shock that somebody new was doing something similar to kissing me-CPR?- was shocking me into consciousness.

I could feel myself blushing when the person pulled away. I'd recognize those bright green eyes anywhere... Doc Holiday?

"Rex!" she cried, smiling, tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so glad that you're alright!"

"Get Rex outta here!" another familiar voice yelled.

Before I can even ask what's going on, Doc Holiday grabs my hand and drags me away. Over my shoulder, I see Six taking out his two swords. Noah's snarling and growling. I know that Noah's probably pretty tough as a lion, but not tough enough to take on Six and survive. I pull my hand out of Doc Holiday's and start running back towards where Six and Noah are.

"Rex! What are you doing?" Doc Holiday calls after me.

"Rescuing a friend!" I call back over my shoulder.

I run right in between Six and Noah, spreading my arms to block attacks from either. Six is gritting his teeth and glaring at me, but I'm determined to keep between him and Noah. Yeah, I'm probably gonna get hurt, but I know Six would do worse to Noah if he got into a fight with him. If I can just get Noah to cool his jets, then everything'll get resolved.

"Get out of the way, Rex!" Six growls angrily.

"No!" I yell back at him. "This isn't a regular lion...It's Noah!"

"That _thing_ almost killed you!" Six replied. "You're delusional, Rex. This island is full of dangerous beasts! You're lucky we caught this one in time! Noah would be lucky if he's survived this long alone!"

I shake my head and turn towards Noah. He's still ready to spring into attack, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Noah..." I say to him telepathically. "It's me, Rex...You need to calm down..."

"Rex..." he says back. Carefully, I walk up to him, holding my hand out. As I walk closer and closer, it seems that Noah's calming down. He comes out of attack mode and his eyes soften. Lightly, I place my hand on his mane and run my fingers through it; it's surprisingly soft.

"That feels good!" Noah says, then smiles at me, or as much of a smile that a lion can manage. "I'm sorry, Rex...and...thank you."

"Can't you speak to Six and Holiday telepathically, Noah?" I ask him.

"I can try..."

Looking up, Six and Doc Holiday are standing there, shocked. I probably had the exact same expression on my face when I originally met up with Noah in his new form, too.


	3. Chapter 3

:Part 3:

After the strange sitch with Noah was resolved, the two of us are tagging along with Doc and Six. Doc Holiday's set up a fire and found fruits that she considers edible , but after hearing Noah's story about how he became a lion, Doc Holiday and Six seem a bit wary of the food. I can't really blame them, but I'm starving. Visions of that turkey are dancing in my head and driving me insane. It feels like my stomach is going to eat itself...

So, I reach out and grab a piece of green fruit. It might turn me into a howler monkey or something, but I'm so hungry right now I'm just gonna take the risk. I can feel everybody's eyes on me, even Six's and his eyes are hidden behind sunglasses.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Rex..." Doc Holiday warns.

I bite into the fruit. It's extremely juicy and sweet. There's so much juice that after one bite, a lot of it's running off and dribbling down my chin. I didn't know that fruit could be this tasty. It's hard to eat with everybody staring at me like I'm _El Chupacabra_ or something, though. Six is shaking his head and Noah is rolling his lion eyes. Once I'm done chewing, the craziest part is when Doc Holiday comes closer and starts tugging at my arms and looking me from head to toe, in search of fur or scales or something.

Their paranoia is getting crazy.

"I'm fine, Doc," I tell her irritably. Finally, I'm allowed to finish the piece of fruit in peace...And that's when I realize that I'm eating an apple.

"There's apples here...?" I look at Doc, utterly confused.

"They appear to be 'indigenous' to the island," she says. "I also found...grapes, bananas, cantaloupe...and all of them were growing on trees. Some of these things don't naturally grow on trees. And...all of the fruit on each of the trees looked extremely healthy, too. No rotten ones or weathered ones or anything. It was quite peculiar..."

"Well, it tastes really good," I reply, smiling at her.

"I...suppose they're alright to eat..." Doc Holiday says, looking at Six and Noah. "It's just...the condition I found them in, perfect as it was, was still quite suspicious and odd. And...what exactly did Circe offer you to you, Noah?"

"Chicken," Noah replied telepathically. "Fried chicken. And milk...Could somebody toss me one of those fruits? I'm _starving_!"

I picked up one of the pieces of fruit and tossed it to Noah. He caught it in his huge lion paws and started gnawing on it with his huge teeth. It was funny to watch Six poke a few times at an orange before picking it up. All of them had such high levels of paranoia and nervousness going on; Noah was looking around all the time, Six had his sword right next to him, and Doc Holiday had a gun sitting in her lap.

Doc Holiday looked like she was in deep thought, taking a grape and dissecting it as she cupped her chin in her hand. I was confused and nervous myself, but not paranoid. As a matter of fact, I was feeling a lot better than I had been before now that I was in the company of friends. Circe was hovering at the back of my mind and I was too hungry to really think of much else, but still...

"This is a very unfounded theory at the moment," Doc Holiday speaks up. "But I think Circe can only put these... "charms" ...of hers on meat such as chicken or turkey or something. Also...I can't help shaking the feeling that there's somebody besides Circe and the beasts here. These fruits appears to be a cross-breed...and I highly doubt that Circe's the one growing them... "

"Cross-breed fruits, huh?" Six raises an eyebrow. He lifts up his orange and the inside of it looks like an apple, the same star shaped seeds and everything.

I look down at my own apple: it's juicy because it has orange slices inside...

"I think Circe's going to be our biggest obstacle in getting off of this island," Doc Holiday says, looking bitter. "Six and I have been fighting off everything from tigers to cougars, to warthogs ever since we shipwrecked here and lost track of you and Noah. You were with Circe the entire time, Rex?"

I nodded.

"So Noah's not the only one that's been turned into an animal? I'd like to resolve this peacefully," Doc Holiday says, looking at me. "You and Noah need to go find Circe again and convince her to let Six and I walk around the island without being ambushed by beasts- "

"One problem," Noah interrupted. "Circe wasn't the one that made me attack you. I was attacking because I was...well, hungry...and animal instinct...and yeah..."

Doc Holiday sighed and leaned back against the trunk of a palm tree. "Then we need to figure out why Circe's turning people into animals because we're, most likely, her next targets," Doc Holiday says. "We need to find a way to get Noah and the others cured, or we might be stuck on this island... "She swallowed the next word she was about to say.

She had all of our attention. I felt sort of uneasy now, because she was looking directly at me. "Rex, you and Noah need to go find Circe again and talk to her. From what you said, she appears to be very fond of you... "Yeah, I told them about meeting up with Circe, but not about kissing her or falling in love with her, but I think Doc got the implication that both happened anyway.

"Six and I are going to further investigate the area where I found this fruit...I have a feeling that the people growing it may just have some sort of connection with Circe..."

I'm full after eating that strange fruit. It might sound weird coming from me since I hate fruit, but that was some of the best fruit I've ever eaten.

Now Noah and I are trekking through the plants and palm trees, in the dark in search of Circe's hut. Neither of us know where the heck we are. At least I don't.

"Hey Rex..." Noah says, looking at me weird. "I can't hold back my curiosity anymore...What's up with the tux?"

"...what?"

"You're wearing a tux," Noah replied. "Seems like a bizarre fashion choice right now if you ask me."

What he's saying makes no sense. I stop and look down at myself...He's right. I'm wearing a long sleeved white shirt and dark pants. No wonder I've been so uncomfortable for the past couple of hours. This thing's soaking up sweat, but at least it's cooler now than it would be during the day.

"I don't know," I tell him, frowning. "I did take a shower at Circe's hut...I guess I never stopped to think about how I had fresh new clothes when I was done... "

"Oh." Noah sounds like he's laughing. "So Circe picked out that get-up? I actually thought you were taking after Six... "

No thanks! Me, being like Six? Not gonna happen in a million years.

Suddenly Noah lets out a low growl and starts looking around. Great, he's getting paranoid again. But that's when I see a line of bushes in front of us start to jiggle with a bunch of rustling noises. The bushes continue to shake and then, shockingly, two white tigers walk out of the brush. I'm not really a descriptive or artistic guy, but those tigers with their snow white fur put a gorgeous contrast against the darkness of the night.

It was pretty. A great shot for a photographer.

Though the tigers weren't the best part: Circe followed them out of the bushes. She looked absolutely gorgeous, her hair falling over one shoulder. By now, she was wearing something different from before: a shorter, violet robe, showing her legs and shoulders. There was something graceful and magical about her...

My heart was beating like a congo drum and all of my attention went right towards her as she walked over to me. Right now, I didn't care what I'd heard before, I was melting. All I want to do is rush towards her and hold her, hold her for as long as I can.

"I've been looking for you," she purrs, looking up at me.

"Mi amor... " I can't keep myself from talking. "Te amo! **_Te amo_**-"

I stop talking as soon as I realize what I just said and I'm just staring at her now. We're both looking at each other and my cheeks are on fire. Circe is blushing herself and smiling, that smile that made me start to fall for her in the first place.

I'm not thinking as I take her face in my hands and press the tip of my nose to hers. It feels so nice to be so close to her again. My heart's aching and the feelings are so intense. For one moment, I look at her face and see those shining eyes, so full and bright. It drives me wild. Without waiting a moment longer, I'm the one that leans in and kisses her.

My eyes are closed. She wraps her arms around me and I take my hands away from her face and wrap them around her waist, pulling her even closer. Our bodies are touching. All over, I feel like I'm on fire as electric tingles race up and down my spine, through my arms, down my neck. I don't want the feeling to end. It feels endless as we seem to be getting closer and closer, even though we're in as close an embrace as we can get.

"REX!" Suddenly Noah screams in my mind. "Stop making out with her!"

How loud his voice is in my head jars me and I pull away from Circe. The world is a blur and for a few moments, I'm not sure who I am or what I was doing.

"Rex... " Noah says a bit more calmly this time.

"You've found a way to talk to the lion?" Circe asks.

Of course that's the first thing she notices. Now I'm getting frustrated and kind of angry. What just happened...It doesn't seem to be affecting anyone but me.

"Circe..." I grab her arms and look right at her. "**_I love you_**."

Now she actually notices. She looks flustered and confused, her cheeks a light pink.

"Rex..."

"Do I have to say it again?" I ask.

"No... " She shakes her head. "I...I..."

There's a guilty look on her face and she pulls away from me. I watch as she walks away from me, over to Noah. She kneels in front of him and runs her hands through his mane. And all I can do is stand there, feeling frustrated and impatient, burning with so much longing for Circe it hurts. I want her to tell me that she loves me back so badly...

"You came back..." she says to Noah, looking at him strangely. "Nobody comes back to me. I cast a charm on you and...Everybody runs away from the charm as soon as they can..."

What she says sounds so strange. And Circe's looking off into the distance, not at Noah.

"I want to be _human_ again!" Noah cries telepathically. "I almost ate Rex and ripped my other friends to shreds! I hate being a lion..."

"Rex...?" Circe's eyes widen and she gasps.

Before Noah can say anything else, she stops running her hands through his mane and places them above his eyes. Closing her own eyes, she transforms her face into that weird funnel and a strange, low croak comes out. It sounds like a strange song being sung by a frog. As she continues to make the weird sounds, Noah slowly starts changing from the form of a lion back to human form.

I'm watching all of this, mesmerized and feeling like I'm in the middle of a bizarre fairy tale.

Circe's face returns to normal and she backs away, looking down at her feet. "It's done," she says, looking at Noah. "You're human again..."

Circe looks so sad and upset. I can't help it when I run over and wrap my arms around her. She leans against me and we both watch as Noah looks at his feet and hands, flexing and pulling at each of his fingers and toes. When he finally comes to the fact he's human again, he smiles and leaps to his feet. Then he starts running around in circles and whooping at the sky.

I look back at Circe, gently turn her face to look at me.

"So...why did you turn Noah into a lion?" I ask, holding her close and making myself clear the love-fog exploding in my head.

"I guess I owe you an explanation," she sighs. "Follow me to my house and I'll explain everything..."

Before I let her get up, I pull her closer until our faces are only inches apart. There's a question I just have to know the answer to. I don't want to ask it because it could determine how I continue to feel about her after all of this.

"One more thing," I say softly. "When you gave me that turkey...were you going to turn me into some kind of animal...?"

Circe looks right at me, reaches up and touches my face. Her fingers are so soft...  
"No, I wasn't," Circe replied. "You're the _only_ one I wasn't planning on turning into an animal."

Somehow, I know she's telling the truth, but it makes me want to know why she turned Noah into a lion that much more. I pull away and let her stand back up before standing back up again myself.

"She's gonna tell us why she turned you into a lion," I tell Noah once he's done with his victory dance.

Noah nods, then rolls his eyes. "It better be a really good reason..."

"She did turn you back into a human," I say, glaring at him.

"I still don't trust her..."

I raspberry at Noah before running up to walk beside Circe. Yeah, the move was probably immature, but I don't care.

Trying to be subtle, I reach out for Circe's hand while looking at some of the other bushes and stuff. To my surprise, she reaches out and grabs it. When I turn to look at her, she's smiles and squeezes my hand, making my heart beat fast again and shivers run through me.

No matter what this girl might do next, I can't help myself. I love her, love her so much that I don't care what reason she gives for transforming people into animals...

We walk the rest of the way to her hut holding hands. I'm not paying any attention to how we're getting there. All of my attention is focused on the fact that we're. Holding. Hands. When she finally lets go of my hand, I find myself in the living room of her hut again. I don't remember entering her house or even getting here...

She motions at the couch and Noah and I sit down on it. Then she walks over and sits in her own arm chair next to the couch. Both Noah and I are looking at her and she's looking all around the inside of the hut, her hands folded. A full minute passes before she takes a deep breath and sits up.

"I'm not the only person living on the island as you already know," she says, looking at both of us. "But I used to be the only one living here..."

"I was born here," she continued. "I used to live here with my adopted mother who taught me how to use my strange powers and become a sorceress. My mom died when I was ten, so I've pretty much been on my own since then. It's extremely lonely and depressing being by yourself on an island. I ended up interacting with the creatures that live here naturally and became friends with all of them. In a way, I guess you could say that I'm a beast master..."

"My first encounter with a person was when I was eleven. A ship full of men docked here, a merchant ship. I didn't approach the men, just eavesdropped on them and I discovered that they were going to use my island as a place to grow and manufacture crops cheaply. The next day, they started work and they cut down so many plants and trees, robbing my friends of their natural habitats. I couldn't let them do that, so I came up with a charm to turn them into creatures..."

"I invited all of the men to dinner and each one was excited by free food, so they accepted. Each and every one of them became an animal, the exact animal that their personality reflects. They all became inhabitants of the island and have remained animals ever since. I made sure to destroy their ship, too, just in case they came across the only antidote for my charm on the island while they went about their business. Every company, man, woman, or child that has come here with the intent of stealing my island away from my friends and I has been transformed into an animal. I've never trusted anyone that's stepped onto this island...It's the home of my friends and me. Nobody can take it away..."

Circe finished her story, looking away from us, into the fireplace. She looked angry and bitter, clenching her fists in her lap. Now we understood why she'd done it, but I couldn't help thinking that she was holding something back, that there was something more she wasn't telling us.

But I also had to say something in response to her story. "Circe..." I say. "Not everybody that comes to the island is here to steal it from you..."

"Yeah," Noah agrees. "Rex, Six, Holiday, and I got shipwrecked here. We're trying to **_get off_** of your island, Circe, not stay on it and take it from you. I'd love to get on a boat and take off back home. I'd be more than happy to leave you and the animals and stuff alone..."

Circe looks away from the flames in the fireplace. She looks at Noah and I'm wondering what she's thinking. That's when it strikes me: If I leave this island, I'll be leaving Circe. I can't leave her yet. I'm in love with her...

I look at her and sigh. This is the most time we've probably ever spent together. I can't leave now, maybe not ever, but then again, I can't stay here either...Maybe I can convince Circe to finally come back home with me to Providence. My life would be so much brighter with her around.

Suddenly, Circe's face morphs into that weird funnel again and she makes a bunch of high and shrill noises. Once she's done, I look at where Noah was sitting and he's frozen. I reach out and wave a hand in front of his face. He's _completely_ frozen, with a stupidly funny look on his face.

"What did you just do?" I ask, turning and looking at Circe.

Circe looks at me, frowning as her face morphs back to normal. "I'll find a way for your friends to go home," she says, clenching her fists. "But you're not going with them, Rex. I want you to stay here. _With me_."

She walks over to me and looks into my face with her brown eyes. "I love you, too, Rex..."


	4. Chapter 4

:Part 4:

I'm standing there, mouth wide, just looking at Circe. It seems impossible, but I'm shocked and...there's still a blush on my face. She's standing there, looking beautiful and innocent and I'd almost fall for the act, except...Noah's an ice sculpture that's sitting right next to me on the couch.

So, to recap to myself, she told me her life story involving the island, she turned Noah into an ice cube and she told me that she loves me. One part of my brain's dancing a spazzy, happy dance while the other is freaking out. I don't know what to do, how to react. Nothing. I'm just sitting here, looking up at her.

"Rex..." she says, climbing right onto my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Rex..."

Now she's rubbing my cheek with the back of her hand and her face is so close. Her hand moves from my cheek to my hair and her fingers start combing through it, softly and gently. I look into her face and she smiles back, using her other hand to tilt my chin up.

"I can show you all of the secrets of my sorcery," she whispers. "You can help me protect my island and my friends...Then I could turn everyone back into humans, set them free, and the island would be pure once again. I've been waiting for you to come, Rex..."

Now she was pressing the tip of her nose right against mine and she had a strong scent of some kind of flower. Whatever it was, it was my new favorite scent.

"You probably know my father as the sun god Helios," she continued. "He told me that one day someone that was my equal in sorcery would come to the island. I sensed your magical aura as soon as I found you on the island. And now that you're here, I finally have a soul mate. As long as we're together, we'll be two of the most powerful beings in the world, Rex. We're demi-gods and this is our island, Aeaea."

Now she was just confusing me; has she been in the sun too long or something? Last time I checked, I'm an evo that can generate mechanical arms, legs, a sword, wings, and such. And she's an evo that's got a super sonic scream power. But then again-I can't believe I didn't think about this sooner-she's living in a hut on a bizzaro island who-knows-where and last I checked, she was tagging along with Van Kleiss' baddies posse. When did Circe decide that she was the daughter of a sun god that turned people into animals?

"I think it's time you knew what you were capable of," Circe says in a really strange, sinister tone of voice.

She backs away from me and grabs my hand, spreading my fingers apart. Then she places her hand, fingers spread, right on top of mine. Some weird purple glow comes from her hand and...a red glow comes from mine. When Circe pulls her hand away, trails of the purple glow start to slither off of her hand and into the air and she's chanting something. Trails of the red glow come off of my hand and they start to intertwine and wrap around the purple...

I'm mesmerized by the strange light show. It's a really weird thing to say, but Circe looks like she has a terrible stomach ache the entire time she chants. My stomach's beginning to twist into a huge ball of knots. Something's not right here. I can't help feeling suspicious, on edge.

"The red glow is your magical aura," she explains as soon as she finishes chanting. "It's the powers that you received from your father, Rex. My powers come from Helios, so my powers are strongest when he is out in the form of the sun. I'm not sure what time of day your powers would be at their strongest, but if your powers are anything like mine, you can use them any time of the day; they'll just be at their most powerful at a certain time of day..."

Chills run down my spine as Circe reaches out and clasps both of my hands in hers. "My method of controlling my magic is by channeling it through sound," Circe says, squeezing my hands. "You need to discover how you channel yours...Use your powers to unfreeze Noah. Focus on your powers, let them flow through your body, and then that's how you get the magic to happen. You must say these words or else it won't work..."

Circe whispers a couple of words into my ear that I swear sound more like gibberish than something magical.

"Why'd you freeze Noah in the first place?" I've finally found my voice. Took long enough.

"I'm going to freeze him again once this exercise is over," she says. "As I said, you're my soul mate...I can't bear to live without you, Rex. I need someone here besides the animals. I want you. I need you. I _love _you!"

A couple of minutes ago, she became my teacher in magic I didn't even know I had and now...she's desperate? This isn't Circe. I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner, but this is _not _Circe. My Circe isn't some kind of magic, desperate chick that says she can't live without me. I can't deny that she's hot, that I fell for her, but...she's not Circe. _This can't be Circe! This isn't Circe! Circe! __**Circe!**_ I can't seem to stress this point enough.

There's this huge grin on her face and her eyes are wild, spinning; she looks like she's lost a few sprockets or gears or something. She's so close to me. My heart's beating a million miles an hour now and all I know is that I gotta get outta here. I look over at Noah. Still frozen.

That magical light show was pretty convincing, so I decide to give "my magic" a shot.

"_Gippity gibby goo_!" I yell at Noah, wriggling away from psycho-not-Circe and feeling like a complete moron.

I grab Noah by the wrist and start running, dragging him right out the front door of the hut. Next thing I know, I've let go of Noah's wrist and we're running like a pair of idiots. I can hear high-pitched screaming. One look over my shoulder: the gal's leaning out of the door...screaming and I think she's casting a spell or something...

"_Gippity gibby goo_! _Gippity gibby goo_!" I yell as I turn back around. I scream it at the sky, at everything, trying to drown out her screaming. Once we're in the plants and surrounded by palm trees, my lungs are burning and the sound of her screaming is resonating everywhere, making my ears ring, shaking the world around me. Suddenly, Noah and I come to an immediate halt: there's two hungry lions licking their chops right in front of us.

I bump into something. Turn around and I discover a couple of white tigers right behind me. Noah looks like he's about to pee his pants. I can definitely relate right now. I'm saying the magic words over and over now, like a ridiculous mantra, but as I look around, I can see that they're doing absolutely nothing. And my voice sounds so raspy and wimpy, to add insult to injury.

"Shut up, Rex!" Noah yells at me, his eyes wide and scared. "Stop saying gibbity whatever and attack them or...just _do _something or we're kitty food!"

I'd say something witty right now if I wasn't scared out of my mind. The big cats are creeping closer, eyeing us like we're a pair of Prime ribs.

That's when not-Circe shows up, behind the white tigers riding on the back of a pudgy wild boar that's had way too many meals. Not-Circe doesn't even look anything like Circe now; she's bright red, crimson eyes, flaming hair that's _literally _flames. "If I can't have you, then nobody can!" she screams. "**NOBODY**!"

I swear I'm gonna explode. The cats are coming closer, showing their sharp, sharp teeth now. I'm remembering Noah's debut as a lion, how my powers wouldn't work. I squeeze my eyes shut and think about kicking evo butt, kicking, punching, blasting. I so wish I had my powers...

That's when a loud beeping noise, an oh-so-familiar beeping noise fills my ears. I open my eyes and I'm looking at my huge pair of metal fists.

All of the kitties are running full throttle now. I spin once and my fist knocks all four of them out. They go sliding, yowling and one flying into the sky. "Strike!"

The cats aren't down and out yet. Two climb right back to their paws and rush at Noah, fangs bared and claws out. All I have to do is put my fist right in their direction and they both run headfirst right into it. Both fall back, looking up at the sky and seeing stars now. Confident that I've taken out all of the cats, I turn my arms back to normal, smiling and letting the fear sail away.

I turn towards Fiery Babe, watch her sitting there glaring at me, clenching her fists, glaring. "You can't be a crazy cat lady without your cats," I say, smirking. "You must have a jumbo can of cat nip and a couple of huge yarn balls for your house pets."

She doesn't seem to be a huge fan of clever one-liners, 'cause now she's jumping off of the wild boar and Piggy's coming at me full-tilt. Before I can generate anything, Piggy hops on me, pins me to the ground and knocks all of the air outta my lungs. Really tough pig. I'm struggling with the pig, but the more I grapple with it, the tougher Piggy seems to get.

"LET ME GO!" Still struggling to get out of the pig's wrestling hold, I look over and see that Fiery Babe has a hold of Noah's wrist and there's smoke coming up off of where's she's holding it.

"I can and _will _burn his hand off!" she yells at me.

I grunt, doubling my efforts to get the freaking pig off of me. Enough time's been wasted on Piggy. Only one of my arms is free from the wrath of Piggy, so I turn it into my Big Fat Sword, lash out and pierce the thing, right through the middle. It's gross, but I ignore Piggy, tossing him aside and quickly scrambling to my feet.

Now I'm running towards Fiery Babe, wielding my Big Fat Sword. It's enough to get her to let go of Noah's wrist and she lashes out with her bare hand, catches the Sword's blade. And she melts the metal, with something that I could swear is lava. I cry out it pain. It hurts! It hurts so bad...

Right away, my hand returns to normal and I fall to my knees, screaming in pain as I clutch at my hand. Carefully, I bring my hand up to my face and it's covered with a nasty red mark. It's a constant, painful, painful throb. I can even feel tears forming in the edges of my eyes.

"Are you alright?"

When I look up, I'm looking at Fiery Babe. She's so twisted; her red face has morphed into Circe's, wearing a concerned expression. It makes me angry, so angry, that I turn my one working hand into a giant fist and swing at her, but unfortunately, she jumps out of the way and dodges my blow.

"You're _not _Circe!" I yell at her, swinging again while clutching my burnt hand to my chest. She dodges again and again and again, none of my blows connecting.

My hand keeps throbbing, throbbing with the beat of my heart. But I'm so angry, I don't care. Tears are falling down my face, tears from the sheer and intense pain from the burn. I glare at her, bring back my fist and watch as she walks over, slowly and calmly. It's so unfair that she can do that, while I'm in so much pain.

"Of course I'm Circe," she says, taunting me. "I'm the _real _Circe, unlike that little dark haired whelp that arrived here with you. She was insulting me, pretending to be Circe...there can only be _one _true Circe and that's me..."

She continues walking towards me. "I locked her up in a cave with some of my pets. They've probably eaten her whole by now..." She frowns a little. "I saw how enamored you were by her, so I pretended to be her, much as it pained me to do so. But now, I realize that that was just a waste of time. After seeing you fight...You're no demi-god. You're the same strange brand of creature that little whelp pretending to be me was..."

"What a shame. I was truly hoping that you were the one..." Her words are like poison, angering me more and more. "You're quite affectionate, though and seem to be quite receptive to my magic. That's probably how you unfroze your friend...temporarily absorbing some of my magic...You'll make a great house pet-"

A huge root comes out of nowhere and wraps around Fiery Babe, constricting her and cutting off her next sentence. My eyes are wide and I climb to my feet, dazed. Somehow, Noah's standing next to me and we're both looking at the huge root. It keeps tightening, more and more and Fiery Babe keeps writhing, struggling in it's grip.

"Hello Rex. Fancy meeting you here." Anger instantly boils up in me. Van Kleiss walks out of a nearby line of hedges, smirking as he clenches his fist and tightens the root's grip on Fiery Babe. It doesn't make any sense that he's popped up out of nowhere...and he's attacking somebody that was _attacking me_...

Fiery Babe melts her way out of the roots, smoke coming up off of her and breathing in gasps, Van Kleiss just smirking at her. She runs at him, but he stops her by tripping her with a root. As she falls, Fiery Babe turns her face into a funnel and shrieks, high and loud. I instantly reach up to plug my ears. Van Kleiss has to plug his ears, too and she's using it as an opportunity to climb back to her feet and rush at Van Kleiss again.

Suddenly, Noah yanks at my arm and my attention's directed away from the strange fight. He takes off running and I run after him. We run for several minutes and I'm fighting the urge to look over my shoulder at the battling baddies. Noah has the right idea: we escape while the baddies have their attention and energy focused on each other. For the next several minutes, our only focus is escape, running, breathing. Survival.

The world's a blur as I'm running and I'm sure that neither one of us knows where we're going. As I run, I can't help replaying the strange events of the day over and over through my head as if I'm watching a movie created by a mad man. The night's felt like it lasted an eternity. Around me, I can see sunlight breaking in through the leaves overhead.

After running what felt like a fifty mile marathon, I fall to the ground. Lying there, I'm so out of breath and my heart's gonna bust out of my chest. It's been beating so hard and so fast lately, that I'm surprised it's not broken. I roll over and see that Noah's a few feet away, looking blankly up at the sky. He looks over at me and smiles a little.

"At least I'm not a lion..." he says, trying to laugh. "No more catnip or mice for me..."

Keep trying, Noah. Maybe someday you'll have as many clever sayings and one-liners as I do.

I'm so tired...Exhausted...That's when I just close my eyes and fall into a heavy sleep, leaving the now extremely weird and unexplainable island of Aeaea and the rest of the world behind...

"Hey Rex...Looks like you finally woke up..."

I'm waking up and...looking into the smiling face of Doc Holiday. Yeah, that's a great way to wake up. So why do I feel so terrible...? Looking away from Doc, I see that Six and Noah are in chains attached to a cave wall. They're not the only ones...

Right across from me, Circe-_my _Circe, the _real_ Circe- is in chains on the cave wall. Her eyes are closed, and she has a bloody lip. The rest of her body looks so limp and she's paler than usual.

_Is she dead? _I can't help the thought from entering my mind and it's frightening, more frightening than anything else I've encountered on this island so far. Right away, I remember Fiery Babe and I'm filled with rage. She's responsible for every last obstacle that all of us have had to face on this stupid island...

And she's going to pay a pretty heavy price for it as soon as I can get my hands on that 'whelp'...

"Rex! Can you get us outta here?" Noah looks at me and he looks just as mad as I feel right now.

Before I can generate anything, there's a low growl that fills the cave. Where we are is dimly lit by a small fire and the rest of the cave is pitch black. There's a pair of bright green cat eyes in the darkness, growling softly as they get closer.

I'm gonna get us out of here, but I have to take care of the kitties first.

"Here kitty, kitty."


End file.
